http://www.mccombs.utexas.eduAmericans have grown accustomed to hearing gloomy news about the state of the union. Stymied by a stalling economic recovery and a volatile political climate, the country is rapidly losing ground to global competitors. But John Doggett, a senior lecturer in the Management Department at McCombs, says that if the U.S. decides to take the revival of its competitiveness seriously, there is still hope.

"We live in an amazing country. We have overcome challenges that would have destroyed other countries," said Doggett, in a recent talk for the Texas Enterprise Speaker Series. "We face serious problems, and serious problems equal great opportunities."

In order to catch back up, he said, we must first realize how far we have fallen.